Ramos wins Big Ten title, Iowa finishes second

MADISON, Wis. -- University of Iowa senior Tony Ramos won the 133-pound Big Ten title during championship round action of the conference tournament Sunday at the Kohl Center. The Hawkeyes finished second in the team standings with 135 points, trailing only Penn State's 140.5 points.

Nine Iowa wrestlers finished in the top-five of their respective brackets, the most of any school. All nine placewinners earned an automatic berth to the 2014 NCAA Championships.

"I believe that we have a team to win it here and I believe we have a team to win it in a couple of weeks, that's how you go forward," said UI head coach Tom Brands. "That's what our next mission is. We have to get ready for the next tournament. Even if we come out on top (here), there are things to work on and there are things to work on now. It's the same either way. We have to go to work."

The top-seeded Ramos earned his first career Big Ten Championship by downing second-seeded Tyler Graff of Wisconsin, 2-1. Ramos, who finished second at the 2012 and 2013 Big Ten Championships, used a second period escape and 1:37 of riding time to defeat Graff.

"It didn't go exactly the way I wanted, but I got the win," said Ramos. "I wanted to win this one in regulation and I'm walking out of here with the title. It was a lot of fun and the fans were great. Wisconsin did a great job hosting this tournament."

Iowa also recorded four runner-up finishes. Derek St. John (157), Nick Moore (165), Mike Evans (174) and Ethen Lofthouse (184) all placed second at their respective weights.

Junior Bobby Telford posted a pair of wins Sunday, wrestling back from a first round defeat to finish third at 285. Telford began his day with a 3-1 victory over Northwestern's Michael McMullan in the consolation semifinal, and downed Mike McClure of Michigan State, 3-2, in the consolation finals. Telford rallied from a two-point deficit to defeat the sixth-seeded McClure, registering two escapes and 1:18 of riding time.

Cory Clark dropped a 9-5 decision in the consolation finals to place fourth at 125. Josh Dziewa and Nathan Burak placed fifth at 141 and 197, respectively.

Iowa returns to the mat March 20-22 at the NCAA Championships in Oklahoma City. The NCAA will announce the tournament field Wednesday, March 12.

"We have to be strong and we have to go forward, and we have the team for that," said Brands. "We have the mental makeup for that with this team and the emotional make up. We have a lot of good guys and we need to win more matches."

Notes: Attendance was 10,111... Total attendance was 28, 442... Ramos is the 110th Big Ten Champion in school history... Iowa's 110 Big Ten Champions has combined for 191 conference titles... Ramos is the 11th Big Ten Champion under head coach Tom Brands...